Border Forest
The Border Forest is a large forest that connects four different regions of Faerun: the Dalelands to the south, Anauroch to the west, the Tortured Lands to the north and the Moonsea to the east. The Border Forest is a mixture of pines, oaks and other deciduous trees; the forest undergrowth is relatively thick, making the walk difficult. It is inhabited mostly by fey; due to heavy logging activities in the past, mostly from Snowmantle, the fey in this area tend to be more violent and hostile than in other parts of Faerun. At the southern edges of the Border Forest lie the ruins of the Flaming Tower, once built by fire giants and destroyed by the Knights of Myth Drannor; the ruins are now inhabited by a powerful beholder, served by a force of goblins. It was also the site of the Temple in the Sky, a flying citadel tethered to the Tower. The Tower was destroyed by the Knights of Myth Drannor and the Temple cast adrift. Today, the Temple has been recovered and hovers above the Tower's ruins, which are still in the hands of Zhentil Keep forces. Eldreth Veluuthra Two Eldreth Veluuthra were known to be active in the forest around 1374 DR. One cell focused on raiding the Daggerdale border while the other concentrated on ambushing Zhentarim agents. The Eldrath Veluuthra in this area were supported by fey. Lore he northern Border Forest is extremely rough country: wooded knife-edged ridges between ravines, with many small caverns and plentiful roaming monsters (in other words, a colder version of the Stonelands north of Cormyr). Hellish country to try to hew a trade-route through, even if it isn’t inhabited by hostile creatures (and as we know from Lanseril Snowmantle of the Knights, the inhabitants of the Border Forest are VERY hostile to the Zhents and to woodcutters in general). Eric Boyd is correct in mentioning that hybsil tribes are a widespread and worsening problem in the southern Border Forest. In the northern forest, the plant monsters and prowling predators are fierce enough that even the hybsils don’t go there -- and we Knights, I must confess, made things worse by moving a few deepspawn there, to provide plentiful food for all and endless foes for Zhent intruders. We even encountered a Worm That Walks in our last visit there, and I can’t imagine anyone less powerful than the senior Zhents surviving there for long (and by their own thinking, they have MUCH better things to do). To the north of the Border Forest, the land continues to be “broken” and hard to traverse, with rocky badlands running right up into the frozen, wind-sculpted jagged ice of the permanently-frozen regions. Iyraclea (detailed in the EPIC LEVEL HANDBOOK) is taking an interest in this area (because human mining forays have forced the ogres to retreat into the ice-caves and thus “intrude” on her territory. As Eric says, the flind-led gnolls roam here in seemingly-endless bands, and hate the Zhents far more than they fear them. Mount Ghaethluntar is THE main flind realm that I know of, and they view the Zhents as a threat best fought in the gnoll lands (in the same way that the Soviet Union, in our real world, sought to surround itself with “satellite states” so disputes with the ‘outside world’ could be fought therein, and not on ‘home soil’). So, no, it wouldn't be easier for the Zhentarim to just go around Border Forest. :} Category:Forests Category:Locations in North Faerûn